I dont think they should. I mean they are getting free room and board, free education, textbooks, meals. They are getting the basics.

If they want spending money, thats what student loans are for.

I know what your saying, but why take out a student loan when there's a booster who wants to give you a "job".

The NCAA makes tons of money on these kids, you know.

Yes they do. And in return, they are getting a lot more than a student in the general student body.

At a mediocre school, a 4 year athletic scholarship is worth around $50,000 by the time everything is added up. Its not like they aren't getting anything from it.

I see what you mean....I just think the kids end up in a bad postition when they are approached by boosters and they feel like they have to take it just to live a normal college kid life.

Normal college kid life? They are highly visible athletes. Do you think a dork from the chess club is going to attract attention as he walks across campus?

Athletes have it made on college campuses across the nation.

Yea, athletes have it made. Especially with those teachers who absolutely hate athletes and will not even let them take their class in season because they won't be able to go to every class.

Also, you realize maybe 3-4 guys on the football and basketball teams are "highly visible" at most, while the rest you might recognize as athletes, but they don't stop traffic and make big crowds.

Someone please explain how this is fair. If a college student wants to make extra money they can go get a job and get paid. If a college athlete wants to make extra money they aren't allowed to. How is that at all fair to the college athlete.

I don't think the chess club kid is the normal college student either...

D1 athletes do receive a stipend, and they should. It's minimal, but it's enough to cover those things that don't always fall under

When you are a college athlete, you have NO FREE TIME whatsoever to have a job to cover basic expenses. You're practicing a lot in the offseason, and when it's your season you're never around long enough to hold a job consistently.

I remember during my college softball season being on the road wed-sunday most weeks during the season, taking exams in buses or on planes, getting emails of notes from profs, having to bust my ass sun-tues to crank out papers and sit in on lectures that I could or meet with profs for extra help. I had one course that I never was able to show up for-- maybe went three times all semester because our travel schedule was so heavy and it was a one-a-week course.

It's not as cushy to be a student athlete as you think. And oh, did I mention that I was a D3 athlete?

Baseball/Softball is the worst as far as missing class is concerned. There were weeks where we would play in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Cincinnati on Wednesday, then leave for Buffalo on Thursday for a Friday-Sunday series. That would get us back on campus about 2-3 AM Monday morning.

Oh it was awful. I don't know how D1 players did it with the schedule I had.

It always struck me odd that we'd have doubleheaders all week long, with the local games being Mon-Wed, and then travel at the end of the week, and all my friends playing D1 hockey at school got to play Friday-Saturday. We'd have like 6-10 games a week, they'd get 2... maybe 3.

Why did we get the shaft?

I think college athletes should receive minimum wage pay for all the hours at practice and games. We won't count conditioning and weight lifting, not to mention travel time either. So maybe 3-4 hours pay 6 days a week. Plus their scholarship, which is not always a full ride. Matter of fact, most college athletes are not on full rides.

Of course, we did get meal money of about 80 dollars a weekend for 4 meals. Do the math, and you end up with some cash after the weekend unless you ate steaks all weekend.

I like that idea.

That's a good idea. I just think that students should not get in trouble for receiving money. My friend during this summer which is her junior year is going to be making $12,000 working at investment firm. She also is getting money to buy clothes and food and gets free housing in NYC. Why is it fair that student-athletes don't get these opportunities? They should have the same chance to get paid. Just because they are student athletes doesn't mean that they don't want extra money. The colleges they go to get to make money off of the students but the students do not get to make money for themselves. That idea to me is proposterous.

Yeah, I was put behind everyone else in the real world because I had to turn down internships to play in summer college leagues in random places like Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts, etc.

athlete are really just another student.

To continue the ongoing debate with volfan and koufax....

I agree with both of you all, college athletes do have it made when it comes to almost everything. I disagree with you Koufax that there are only 3-4 guys who are highly recognizable, here at WKU a guy who received 0 pt will be hovered around like he is the greatest thing ever, how do i know? I hang out with him. And this is a fairly large campus...if we are out at the bar there are girls always trying to go home with him and guys sucking up like a mofo. It happens with ALL athletes in the major sports whether they are the star or not. I do agree though that most teachers absolutely hate athletes, i fell victim to this a few times. I didnt have a choice i had to miss classes and tests etc b/c of baseball and alot of teachers didnt give a flying fk, of course my attitude towards class didnt help. But then there is the other side, alot of teachers are cool as shit abt it and give athletes preferential treatment, that happened to me alot in HS.

As far as i see, hell no college athletes shouldnt be earning money, like volfan said they are receiving a free education and a great opportunity by playing in the first place. The story should end there, they def. shouldnt be receiving a stipend. Hell they already do anyways, if anyone played a college sport you will know that on road trips etc that they give you a damn good amt of money to eat blah blah...the list goes on.

When Tennessee played Wisconsin in this years Outback bowl, the NCAA, by some mathematical formula determined that each player from each team could have $1,000 traveling money to get to Tampa from their christmas holidays.

It isnt like the NCAA/SCHOOLS arent taking care of these athletes.

I know during the NCAA tourney they give the kids like 50 dollars a day...so like you said they are def. taking care of these kids. And when i played college ball and we went to Florida we were getting 30 bucks a night to "eat" on, although we would spend like 5 bucks at Wendy's and then spend the rest on bud l but thats beside the point :)

I don't think it's so bad to give these kids some money. A stipend isn't gonna stop people on the outside from giving them money.